Without
a doubt, Penn State Press' Magic in History series is the finest
line of books on medieval occult literature produced to date. I have
enjoyed reading each book in the series - not the least of which is
Professor Kieckhefer's Forbidden Rites. Whether you are a scholar
examining the esotericism of medieval Europe, or a practitioner following
a similar modern tradition, you will benefit immensely from a study
of this book.

Professor Kieckhefer's book is unique in that it does
not attempt to gather and cross-compare a large number of medieval grimoires,
which is the more common method - as we see in texts like Waite's Book
of Ceremonial Magic or my own work on the Solomonic cycle. Instead,
the Professor dedicated Forbidden Rites to a single, and very
obscure, German manuscript. Because the first couple of pages are missing,
the name of the grimoire, as well as its author, is lost to history.
Kieckhefer simply refers to it by its catalogue designation: Codex Latinus
Monacensis 849 (CLM 849), or the more romantic title The Munich
Handbook of Necromancy.

I find the scope of this book reaches far beyond one simple manuscript.
As the Professor leads us through the spells of the Munich Handbook,
we get to learn something about the life and shifting interests of a
working medieval mage. In every chapter, Kieckhefer draws from an array
of related medieval records - most of them anecdotes about magick, and
even Inquisitorial court records - to illustrate the culture within
which our anonymous German mage worked.

Professor Kieckhefer begins Forbidden Rites with an essay on
the magick-book in medieval occultism. I found this information absolutely
fascinating, as it is a neglected subject in nearly all modern studies
of Solomonic mysticism. Of course, there are plenty of books about the
contents of the grimoires, but there is precious little that
explains the
books themselves as living magickal beings. Meanwhile, Kieckhefer shares
medieval anecdotes about grimoires that scream when burned, or spirits
who accost the unwary who merely open such a book. He explains how a
grimoire must be consecrated and kept as a magickal tool in its own
right - as something of a familiar to its author.

The introductory chapter finishes with some discussion
of the art of necromancy in medieval Munich. Here Professor Kieckhefer
makes a distinction between the conjuration of the dead and of infernal
spirits. Both are called "necromancy", though Forbidden
Rites focuses primarily upon the evocation of demons. This brief
introduction to classical necromancy - which is continued in a later
chapter - is vital to understanding any text of spirit conjuration.

In the next chapter, the Professor introduces and outlines
the Munich Handbook itself. Herein, he proposes a distinction,
though by no means a hard one, between "integrally composed"
books, usually dedicated to occult theory, like Agrippa's Three
Books of Occult Philosophy, and "miscellanies," collections
of practical magick without much theory, usually compiled by one person
over a period of time. Most of the grimoires we know today are of the
miscellany type, including the Key of Solomon the King, Lemegeton,
etc. Finally, Kieckhefer uses the contents of the Munich Handbook
to conjecture about the author of the text - thereby creating a wonderful
illustration of the life and times of a "typical medieval wizard."

In chapters three through five, the Professor explores different aspects
of the Munich Handbook, separating its spells into the three
main headings of "Illusionist", "Psychological",
and "Divinatory." Illusionist experiments, or "experiences"
as the Handbook sometimes refers to them, are intended to "trick"
their target - such as producing illusory castles, banquets, armies,
etc. Psychological experiments are intended to gain control over or
influence the mind of their target - such as gaining favor at court,
causing people to fall in or out of love, etc. This chapter also includes
much on sympathetic image magick - such as the medieval wax image or
"voodoo doll." Finally, Divinatory experiments are intended
to reveal secret information, or to gain knowledge of the past or future.
Overall, these three categories cover the largest bulk of spells in
all grimoires.

As I previously stated, the author examines each aspect
of the Handbook alongside of anecdotal medieval records - throwing
some light onto the motivations behind such magick, and placing them
into their proper historical context. Unfortunately, space does not
permit me to outline the contents of these chapters in depth. Suffice
it to say that there is much practical magick found in these chapters,
and the anecdotes are thrilling. (Indeed, I find myself wishing there
were more collections of medieval stories about wizards at work, such
as those found in Elizabeth Butler's Ritual Magic.)

Having examined the intent and nature of the spells of
the Munich Handbook, Kieckhefer then turns his attention in
chapter six to the conjurations and exorcisms used throughout the grimoire.
This is another incredible piece of historical scholarship, as the Professor
explains the broader practice of exorcism in medieval Europe and compares
it to grimoiric conjurations. He illustrates that exorcising malignant
spirits from the sick is
essentially the same art as spirit evocation. The techniques are identical,
while only the intent is slightly different in each case. Perhaps best
of all, he breaks down classical exorcisms right alongside of spirit
conjurations, showing us exactly how they are composed to bring about
their effects. I cannot overstress the importance of this chapter to
anyone wishing to comprehend books like the Goetia, Heptameron,
Magus, etc.

In chapter eight, Professor Kieckhefer explores the magickal
seals found throughout the Munich Handbook. Most of these figures
are for magickal circles drawn upon the ground, or drawn with blood
on parchment to command the spirits. The author examines their forms,
the words written within them, the images drawn upon them and their
proper uses. Hands down, this is the best explanation of the magick
circle I have ever read. For instance, no modern source has suggested
such a circle could be held in the hand as a talisman- yet the practice
does appear in various grimoires. It is also rare to learn that magickal
circles were primarily an aspect of exorcism - where modern traditions
tend to use them for every kind of magickal work.

Finally, Kieckhefer outlines an elaborate method of circle-creation
found in the Munich Handbook. See the tables on pages 181-183,
where the divine names and other considerations for the circle are given
for each day of the week and hour of the day or night. Also see page
296ff for the material in its original Latin. He claims that this material
draws much from the Picatrix, an Arabic book of astrological
magick, but he does not mention that the whole of this section is also
found in the Heptameron or The Magus. As it happens,
this is my favored method of circle-creation, so I was excited to
see it presented here from yet a third source. This also helps to illustrate
the large influence the Picatrix has had on the medieval esoteric
tradition.

To complete his book, Professor Kieckhefer includes the
entire Latin text of the Munich Handbook of Necromancy. Unfortunately,
he does not provide an English translation, except for the portions
he translated for earlier chapters of his book, which fortunately are
considerable. However, he has organized the manuscript very neatly,
placing all recitations in italics, breaking the conjurations down into
their component parts. That makes this book potentially very useful
to someone who knows Latin and might wish to translate the text for
the rest of us.

Though it may be redundant, I will say once more how
highly, very highly, I recommend Professor Kieckhefer's book Forbidden
Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century. It makes
no difference if you are a practitioner or an academic (or both), you
will immensely enjoy this wonderful exploration of medieval magick,
and you will find it foundational to your understanding of the magickal
grimoires.